No More Frankenpuns?

Frankenstein's Hungry Dead Review

Indie filmmakers tackle all sorts of sub-genres; Slashers, creature features, and the paranormal are all fair game, but there is one area of horror cinema that doesn’t seem to get too much attention. The area I’m speaking of is that of the classic monsters, more specifically, Frankenstein and his creature. Aside from the recent Frankenstein vs. The Mummy, I actually can’t think of any indie Frankenstein flicks out there. All that has changed now, though, with Richard Griffin’s Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead.

A group of high school students are forced on a field trip to a wax museum, in order to get themselves out of detention. Filled with figures of horror history’s greatest occupants, the wax museum is run by none other than a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein. When the teens return to the museum after hours, they are greeted by a horde of the good doctor’s failed creations.

I’ve seen a few Richard Griffin films at this point and while they aren’t my favorite flicks, they always offer entertainment, in one way or another. I give Griffin credit for always changing things up quite a bit, never making any two films too similar to each other. Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead, while suffering from some continuity and audio issues, which could have easily been fixed during post production/editing, managed to deliver in a lot of other areas.

The acting by the young cast of unknowns was what you’d expect in a film of this caliber. I must say, however, that I’ve seen way worse and I actually enjoyed some of the performances quite a bit. The characters were your typical annoying-as-all-Hell, snobby teens, but that was quite alright with me, making it easier to digest the fact that they were all going to be ripped to shreds by Dr. Frank’s creatures.

The back cover of the DVD release from Wild Eye Releasing sports a quote from All Things Horror, stating that Michael Thurber, who plays Dr. Frank in the film, is ‘a modern day Vincent Price.’ While I don’t totally agree with that claim, I must say Thurber did deliver the best performance of the entire cast. He was quite good as the evil genius, the descendant of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, and outshined everyone else in the film by leaps and bounds.

My favorite aspect of Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead was most certainly the special effects. All executed with practical make-up and prosthetics, ripped up stomachs, sawed off limbs, and chewed up guts all looked amazing. Additionally, the little bit of CG visual effects that were presented were actually pretty impressive, as well, elevating this low-budget movie above many of its horror genre counterparts.

More of a monster flick with a slasher heartbeat, Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead isn’t quite like the classic Universal or Hammer flicks of yesteryear. It is, however, a solid entry in the monster sub-genre and a worthy addition to any Frankenstein collection. You can pick it up on DVD now from Wild Eye Releasing.

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